Wearable Wireless Sensor Patch for Continuous Monitoring of Skin Temperature, Pressure, and Relative Humidity

This paper describes system design issues involved in the development of a wearable wireless sensor system for continuous monitoring of skin pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. The system is intended for prevention of pressure ulcers (bedsores), and would alert a patient or caregiver to a potentially harmful level of contact pressure or adverse microclimate that could cause tissue damage. Implementation of this system would reduce health care costs by improving pressure ulcer prevention, enabling patient treatment and monitoring outside a hospital setting, and easing workload on caregivers.